Life goes on...

Things have been crazy at work the last few weeks...I was in charge of a banquet for all of the alumni of BYU Chemical Engineering, and as you can imagine, I had a lot to do to get ready for it. Well, it was last Friday, so I'm now free! Yay! And now I can get back to posting pictures of our adorable son =) For starters, here is Joshua sitting by his daddy, who was trying to nail the cable cord around the door frame so it wasn't running across the floor and inviting Joshua to play with it. Joshua seemed very interested in what his daddy was doing. I'm sure he'll be a great helper around the house when he gets older: Here is one of the rare times when I let Joshua play with my cell phone. He loves cell phones, of course, because Mommy and Daddy use them all the time so they MUST be fun to play with: Doesn't he look all grown up in a hoodie and jeans? We can't leave him in a onesie anymore due to the recent cold spell around here...:
Here is a picture from the banquet...Joshua had ripped off my nametag, so Cody thought it would be funny to put it on Joshua's head:
And then he wrote "Product of" on the nametag as well...yeah, Cody is quite silly sometimes:
Just as an update, Joshua is now VERY adept at crawling and crawls all over the place, eats at least two solid meals a day (we're trying to incorporate a third), pulls himself up on everything and can even stand alone for about 5 seconds before toppling over, has four teeth and is working on a couple more, and babbles constantly. He sometimes says "Mum mum mum" when he wants me to pick him up, which of course I take to mean he knows my name. My little baby is growing up so fast! He'll be 10 months old on Saturday...

Now that the banquet is over, I'm ready to start planning things for the ACERC Annual Conference, which will be in February. I'm still busy busy busy, working both my day job and doing transcription, and I still definitely wish that I could be home with Joshua. Cody starts his new job with Target tomorrow night, though, so I'll no longer be the sole breadwinner, which I'm very excited about. Everybody please keep Cody in your prayers--he's in the process of appealing to get financial aid so he can take classes next semester, and we're hoping it goes through so he can be on his way to getting that degree. Thanks for reading!

Some much-needed outside activity

On Saturday, we decided that Joshua needed to go to the park. I think it was more along the lines of me feeling like we never do anything outside and realizing that, come winter, it would be much harder to justify going outside...anyway, I brought it up and Cody agreed that we all needed some outside time, so we headed to a park near our house. Joshua seemed to be a little bewildered by the swing and didn't like the slides at ALL (as evidenced by the pictures below), but he seemed to enjoy sitting on the grass. We only stayed for about half an hour, but it seemed to satisfy him (and us). Of course, we took pictures! Here's our cutie:
And later on that night, Joshua and I went to meet up with Kirsti to watch the Relief Society Broadcast. Cody apparently thought Joshua was adorable in his new outfit, so he took a picture:Yeah, our son is just so photogenic. Of course, I'm not biased in any way. Not me...

Joshua is 9 months old...and I'm playing catch-up

Okay, so things keep happening and I want to talk about them on my blog, but then I realize that I still haven't updated on our Florida trip and all the fun that's happened since then, so I keep pushing things back and now I'm over a month behind again. Sigh. So sorry! I'll start with this past weekend and then write another post about the Florida trip, which will be below this one, for anyone who cares to read about that.

For starters, Joshua is now a happy, healthy 9-month-old, weighing in at 21 lbs 9.5 oz and measuring 30 inches long. I think he's going to be tall and skinny like his daddy. At his appointment on Friday, the pediatrician even commented that Joshua is the first 9-month-old he's seen in several months that hasn't cried or fussed or anything during the appointment. He just sat there, giving weird looks to the doctor when he used the stethoscope and allowing himself to be poked and prodded. I'm glad he's so patient with everything!

At his appointment, the doctor told us Joshua can eat almost anything that we eat, with the exception of things like cow's milk, citrus fruits, honey, and a few other things. This opens up a whole new world of opportunities! We went to dinner at Tucano's on Friday night (had a coupon due to Cody's birthday) and gave Joshua bites of almost everything, from bananas to cottage cheese to beans to pao de queijo...he has yet to absolutely refuse any food, so I guess that's good!

We went to the BYU-Wyoming football game on Saturday--the tickets were Cody's birthday present from me. It looked like it might rain, so we brought jackets just in case, but it ended up being hot and sunny...we have the sunburns to prove it (even Joshua! I'm a terrible mother for not bringing sunscreen--at least Joshua hasn't seemed to mind it at all). But the game was super fun! We shut out yet another team, and are now 4-0 and #11 in the polls! Go BYU! Here are a couple of pictures of Joshua from the game...we forgot to bring a hat, so I detached the hood from my jacket and we put it over Joshua's head to keep him from getting a sunburn. It worked well (until he pulled it off, of course):
Cody was so sweet to carry Joshua around in the Baby Bjorn almost all day...I had the diaper bag, which probably weighs almost as much as Joshua does, so we shared the load =). Whew, I think we're fully current now! Thanks for checking in!

Florida...and our trip back to Utah =\

Finally, here's the update on our trip to Florida. Before I begin, I must give a disclaimer: I really don't mean for it to sound like I'm complaining that we had a horrible trip. We just had a lot (LOT LOT LOT) of mishaps that all combined together to really wear on us and make us never want to travel again. It really was a great trip, though, and I'm so glad we got to spend so much time with my family, especially Kendall and his family, since it had been so long since we last saw them and we're not sure when we'll see them again. That being said, I'll start.

Okay, so I left off on my last post with the night before we left for Florida, so I'll start with that Wednesday morning, August 20th. We woke up early and drove down to San Diego for our flight that was due to leave around 10am. Of course, we found out our flight was delayed due to heavy fog in San Francisco (before you get too confused, yes, our layover was in San Francisco and no, I don't know why because San Diego is closer to Orlando so going direct would have made more sense, but that's air travel for ya), so we sat around in the airport for awhile until finally boarding a flight that left around 11:30. Luckily, our flight to Florida was delayed as well, so we had half an hour to get food before boarding. We arrived in Orlando around 11pm EST, tired and ready for sleep. Come to find out, our car seat was missing, so we got a loaner and rented our car (which cost a ton more than we were originally quoted) and arrived at the resort in Davenport around 1:30am.

Tropical Storm Fay was in full swing when we arrived and stayed for quite a few days, so our main activities on the trip were playing games in the resort room and watching the Olympics. I'm actually kind of glad, though, as we really wouldn't have been able to afford going to Disney World or anything like that. So we just enjoyed the family time together, laughed at Damon's antics, oohed and aahed at Audrey and Joshua, went out to dinner a couple of times, and ate a lot of food. My uncle and his family came out for breakfast on Saturday morning...it was good to see them. I can't believe that my cousin has six kids! The weather did clear up enough by Monday for us to go to the pool, and Tuesday we went to the Atlantic Ocean. Here's a picture of Joshua and Audrey...they were so cute together, and I think being around Audrey really helped Joshua learn a few things (like crawling faster, cruising around furniture, eating finger foods, etc):
Tuesday was actually our two-year wedding anniversary (yay!), so we celebrated by going to Medieval Times. We wanted to do something we couldn't have done in Utah, and this seemed like a fun thing. Our knight lost, but technically all of the knights lost because the captured prince defeated the evil green knight and ended up winning, so yeah. Here's a picture of the two of us in our super-cool blue crowns (I love you, Cody!):And here's a simply adorable picture of Joshua...I couldn't resist:
We left Wednesday, after spending a little while at Downtown Disney. There was a giant Transformer-looking robot in front of the Lego store, so we had to take a picture: The flights back weren't very exciting...Joshua was a perfect angel. We even got a few comments that he was the best baby ever, since he didn't have any bouts of crying. I will note that our car seat was lost yet again, though, so we had to use another loaner. We arrived back in Corona late and tried to get some sleep before leaving for Utah the next morning.

Oh, our trip to Utah...little did we know when we left that Thursday morning that we wouldn't get home until Saturday. I won't go into all the details, but suffice it to say that our car started overheating about 25 miles north of Las Vegas, so we sat in the hot afternoon sun for about two hours until finally getting towed back to Vegas. Once we got the hole in the radiator patched, the car wouldn't turn on or even hold a jump, so we called the only people we "know" in Vegas, our sister-in-law Shelly's aunt, who came and rescued us from the casino parking lot where we had pushed our car after it died on the street. We ended up spending two nights at the Seastrands', who were are ever so grateful to for helping us out. Plus, they have a pretty cool movie selection that was very useful as we sat around waiting to hear about the car. It was finally fixed by Saturday afternoon (needed a new radiator, a new alternator, and a new tire to replace the one that was pretty bald), and we started back up the I-15. Things went pretty well after that...we got a flat tire around Nephi, but luckily we had the spare. We arrived at our house in Orem around midnight.

We thought things would end there, but of course, Monday afternoon, we had ANOTHER flat tire (and since it was Labor Day, no tire shops were open). We hadn't even been able to replace the flat from Saturday, so we drove the car home on the flat tire and Kirsti drove us the next morning to buy two tires. Things are good now, though it seems like our car is on its last legs and we're dreading any future repairs. Oh, and they finally delivered our car seat to us a week after it was lost (they flew it up to SLC and had planned to deliver it on Friday, but since we were still in Vegas we had to reschedule). What drama...

So, that's our trip! Like I said, I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm complaining, but it really was just a loooong trip full of silly little trials that required much patience. It's good to be home.

Back from the abyss...and Happy Birthday, Cody!

Well, we're back! We've actually been back for almost two weeks, but I've been catching up at work and post-poning what is going to be quite a long blog post. First of all, today is my dear sweet husband's 31st birthday! Can you believe he's 31? I can't, and neither can he. He really doesn't look that old. But anyway, I hope he has the best birthday every and knows that I love him oh-so-very much. And Joshua loves you too, Daddy!

So, where do I start? How about at the beginning...well, we left for CA around 9pm on Wednesday, August 13th, in a car packed full of suitcases, snack food, a stroller, a carseat, three adults and a baby (Brianne came with us--meaning that she was the third adult, not the baby). The trip was...long. Joshua decided to choose this road trip to HATE his carseat, and so what should have been a 9 or 10-hour trip ended up being around 12+ hours. Apparently he also decided to become severely attached to his Mommy, which was cute at first but quickly proved to be a little annoying. For example, I couldn't sit in the back seat with him, because he'd just reach out to me, crying and screaming for me to hold him. I ended up driving most of the night, and luckily adrenaline helped me stay up once we arrived at my parents' house in Corona on Thursday morning. We spent that day getting things ready for Kirsti's wedding and reception, which was to be held in my parents' backyard. Thursday night was her bridal shower, where she was indeed showered with gifts and we played fun games and stuff. My good friend Wendy Weitzel came, too--it was so good to see you, Wendy! And Rich was there for part of it, which was weird...until we learned that he was only there at the request of the shower organizers to play a game with Kirsti.

Friday morning, we (meaning me, Kirsti, my mom, Brianne, and Rich's sister Becca) went to get our hair done at a fancy salon. I wish I had a picture of how my hair looked that day, but alas, Cody and I were NOT the best picture-takers on this trip. We have to rely on others now for our memories. Kirsti's hair and makeup were beautiful, which makes sense because she was the bride--she was supposed to look beautiful. Then again, she pretty much always does. Anyway, so we all drove down to San Diego that afternoon, left Joshua with his auntie and soon-to-be aunt-in-law (is that what Becca would be?), and entered the temple. The sealing was wonderful. Kirsti of course cried afterwards as everyone hugged them as we left the room. Pictures afterwards were good...there were tons of people milling around everywhere. We actually got a picture of our ENTIRE family, which hasn't happened since--I think since before my mission, actually! But all five of us original Burr children were there, our four spouses, two "grand"parents, and five little cousins. I need a copy of that picture. As we were walking around outside the temple, I was struck with memories of our wedding day two years before at that very temple...sigh. I'm so glad that my little sister chose to be sealed and was worthy to enter the house of God. And I wish her a long and happy life as Mrs. Richard Lee.

Joshua freaked out again on the trip back to Corona that night, but at least we got In 'N Out as some sort of consolation. The next day included feverish amounts of working to get the backyard in order for the reception, which turned out to be BEAUTIFUL. Seriously, my parents went all out. New grass, a gazebo, tulle everywhere, pretty lights, tables and gorgeous centerpieces...and Becca and her mom even figured out how to write "Kirsti & Rich" in lights, which was displayed on the slope near the gazebo. It was such a fun evening, and Kirsti was once again a gorgeous bride. One of my favorite memories of that evening, though, was my nephew Damon (he's 3) having the time of his life with the fruit from the chocolate fountain. He had a little collection going on his plate of chocolate-covered fruit kabobs, and his clothes were absolutely covered in chocolate. It was adorable. The little program was sweet--Rich sang a song for his mom (some kind of inside family thing), and Brianne, Becca, and I sang "When You Say Nothing At All", for which I accompanied on my guitar. Then Kirsti and Rich had their dance, then Kirsti and my dad danced, then Rich and his mom, and then...I think we went upstairs to put Joshua to bed. But seriously, beautiful reception. I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures of my beautiful sister and her handsome husband (I hope that's okay for me to say that about my brother-in-law)...if I do get some, I shall post.

We spent three more days there in CA, enjoying the nice weather and gearing up for our flight to Florida. I do have a few pictures of a few things we did, all taken with my cell phone. First, here is Cody with the crab he found when we went to Newport Beach on Monday, August 18th (Joshua's 8-month birthday!):
And here is Joshua curiously looking at the starfish that Cody found...he called it "Daddy's Traveling Animal Show":On Tuesday night, my brother Dana and his wife Melissa invited us over to their house. It was good to spend time with them and their kids, Luke and Sydney, as they weren't going to be able to come to Florida with the rest of the family. Kendall and his family were staying with them, and so I took the opportunity to introduce Joshua to his cousin Audrey, who is just 3 and a half months older than him:
Aren't they cute together? I think Joshua weighs more than she does...which I guess is as it should be, seeing as how he's the boy. Anyway, this blog post is proving to be WAY too long, and I really do have work to do, so I think I'll leave this for now and post about our Florida trip and the excitement we had on the way home for another day. Thanks for reading!

I love to see the temple...

I'm going to deviate a little from my usual subject matter on this blog and talk about this past weekend. As many of you know, my sister Kirsti is engaged to be married this Friday. Because she plans to be sealed to her fiancé Rich in the San Diego Temple, she was allowed the privilege of joining the ranks of endowed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her first time through the temple was on Saturday, and Cody and I were present. It was amazing.

First, let me say that I just love the temple. Cody and I used to go every week back when we first got married. Then our outings decreased once I get pregnant (I wasn't always up for a temple session...those of you that have been pregnant before can relate), and now with Joshua it's even harder to get there due to the need to arrange for a sitter. But it was incredible to go on Saturday and once again feel the Spirit in the House of the Lord. What made it even more awesome (and I mean that in the literal sense of the word) was that my little sister was there, too. I have a special bond with my sisters, and to be able to attend the temple with one of them was such a special experience for me. My parents were there as well, which was also wonderful. I think Kirsti had a very good experience.

I remember when I first went through the temple. It was July 26, 2003, and I had just received my mission call a week earlier. It was at the Los Angeles Temple. I don't remember a lot of specifics from the whole experience, but I do remember what it felt like to pass through the veil and be welcomed by my parents and other friends who were present in the Celestial Room. I imagine that's what heaven will be like--and if so, I can't wait to go there. It just made me feel so happy. And now I know what it's like to be on the welcoming side of things. It's wonderful. I just kept looking, waiting, eager to see Kirsti and give her a great big hug. I hope this doesn't sound morbid, but I am so excited to die and then be able to welcome family members into heaven (assuming I make it there, of course). It's just a very special feeling, and nothing compares to it.

I look forward to the day that Brianne will enter the House of the Lord as well and be endowed with celestial power. I can't wait to be there with my entire family. Those of us who are endowed will all be there this Friday, barring any complications, to witness our dear sister Kirsti be sealed for time and for all eternity and to welcome Rich as a new member into our family. Then, one day, the same will happen for Brianne and then we can all be there. Oh, I just can't wait. Families really are what the Plan is all about, after all. And I'm so glad to know that I can be with mine forever. =)

Random Tidbits of Our Life

I fail at keeping my blog updated. I am so sorry! Life is absolutely insane these days, though, with me trying to put in extra hours at my BYU job so I can take two weeks off starting next week--and that's on top of working my normal 8 hours at BYU and 2 hours of transcription work. Yeah, I'm crazy. But we do have a few things to report.

The first piece of news is: JOSHUA IS CRAWLING!!! He started doing it last Sunday, and he's getting better and better at it every day. He's still wobbly, and he can't go really far distances (like all the way across the room in one fell swoop, I mean), but we're just amazed that he can move forward in the first place. I have a couple of cute videos of him crawling on my cell phone, which I will post as soon as I figure out how to get videos from my new phone to the computer.

I do have a few pictures I wanted to share =) First one is a picture of my boys saying goodbye to me from the top of the stairs as I leave for work...sorry that it's a little blurry: This next one will probably embarrass Cody, but I thought it was funny. So, Cody doesn't like to shave. He has really sensitive skin, and shaving really irritates it. This means that there are often long stretches in between when he shaves (he's lucky he's not a BYU student). Anyway, I think it had been about a week since he had last shaved, and he finally realized he'd put it off for too long when he saw the redness on Joshua's cheek after Daddy gave him kisses. You can't see it incredibly well, but there it is. Poor kid:
I absolutely love this next picture. I was talking to Kirsti on speaker phone and Joshua was sitting on my knee. When I told Kirsti she was on speaker phone and Joshua was there, she said, "Hi, Joshua!" And he looked directly at the phone and gave this huge smile! I got him to smile again and wouldn't you know it, there he is showing off his two little teeth. It's probably the best picture we have of his teeth as of yet:
We have church from 9-12 in our new ward, and this means Joshua often doesn't get his morning nap (I did get him to sleep after feeding him during Sunday School, but within 5 minutes of sitting down in the classroom, he woke up. I think it was just too noisy). So Daddy and Joshua took a nap together, which I thought was just adorable. Oh, and for those who are curious, Cody is wearing what's called a CPAP machine, which treats his sleep apnea and helps him breathe more easily, which in turn helps me and Joshua sleep better because he doesn't snore anymore. See, everybody wins! Aren't they cute?:
Life, as I said before, is just making me go crazy these days, so I apologize for not keeping things updated on here. Hopefully things will calm down once we go to CA and FL. Until next time!